Systems conventionally used to generate hydrogen and oxygen gases from the electrolysis of water and collect the combined product gases produced in a closed electrolytic chamber have several inherent weaknesses. Given the design of the electrolytic rods, such a system consumes large amounts of electricity.
Another weakness with conventional systems is in the cooling process which is not ideal because it only uses the cooling effect of a cooling fan to lower the temperature of the electrolytic solution in the electrolytic chamber. As a result, the gas production operation often stops because of overheating.
A third shortcoming of such a conventional hydrogen-oxygen generating system is that the combustion flame temperature is fixed, and therefore cannot be adjusted to the requirements of different flame temperatures needed for different industrial applications. Thus, such a conventional system is limited to use in operation scenarios with compatible temperature needs, cooling requirements, and energy usage. Hence, there is a long felt need for a more effectively cooled, compact, energy efficient, and widely applicable hydrogen-oxygen fuel generating electrolysis cell system.
A variety of such conventional systems have been disclosed in U.S. patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,014,777 and 4,081,656 (Brown); 4,184,931 (Inoue); 4,339,324 (Haas); 4,424,106 (Rossoshinsky et al.); and 5,244,558 (Chiang). The above-mentioned patents describe the production of hydrogen and oxygen in electrolysis units that do not use a liquid coolant. Torches using the fuel gas produced in such units have a very hot flame produced and have no means to adjust the ignition flame temperature.
Some systems try to overcome these shortcomings by circulating liquid coolant through the electrolytic cells or through cooling jackets for the cells. Examples of such cooling jackets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,271,793 (Valdespino) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,888,361 (Hirai et al.). The cooling water for the jacket in '361 is supplied from an external water cooling tank to the jacket around the electrolytic cell containing cylindrical bipolar electrodes. Gotz in U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,962 also uses a liquid coolant system for an electrolytic cell containing bipolar electrodes. Such use of liquid coolant, for a system in which oxygen and hydrogen are collected separately, is also disclosed in U.S. Application 2003/0091880 (Joos et al.). Hsu in U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,100 describes a system combining a high temperature electrolyzer and a low temperature fuel cell. The system is cooled with a gas and/or liquid coolant such as water, carbon dioxide, or a fluorocarbon.
Another approach to correct for these shortcomings has been through the circulation and recycling of cooled electrolytic solution. Examples of electrolytic solution cooling and recycling are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,849 (Spicer) for a system in which oxygen and hydrogen products are collected separately, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,474 (Shoaf et al.) for a similar system used in a hybrid engine vehicle, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,831 (Weber) for a system producing hydrogen-oxygen fuel for an internal combustion engine, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,741 (Lin) and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,430 (de Souza et al.), also for automotive purposes. None of these disclosures include a separate liquid coolant system for the described generator systems.
Nasser in U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,863 tries to combine these two approaches by using a cooling pressure jacket and cooled and recycled electrolytic solution. However both the cooling fluid for the jacket and the circulating electrolytic solution include a gaseous phase for at least part of the circulation cycles.
A third approach to solving the above described shortcomings is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,624 (Hsieh). An electrolytic fueling system for an engine produces hydrogen-oxygen fuel gases from a KOH solution. The produced gases “ascend through a plurality of angled drip plates” for dehydration and then through an acetone container for cooling and decarbonization. The solution water dripped from the drip plates is caught in water absorbing sintered alloy blocks. There is no recycling of electrolytic solution and no liquid coolant circuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,544 (Willey et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,872 (Rhodes) both disclose a means to adjust the flame properties in a torch using hydrogen-oxygen fuel produced by an electrolyzer. Rhodes can use an alkaline electrolytic solution with an air blower cooled cell in the '872 system. Gases produced are passed through a methanol or equivalent fluid tank to reduce the oxygen content of the mix and to prevent excessive oxidizing of welded surfaces.
On the other hand, Willey et al. modifies the hydrogen-oxygen fuel gases in order to obtain a neutral welding torch flame. The '544 system is made up of concentrically located nested electrode tubes using metal hydroxide, such as KOH, dissolved in water as an electrolyte. The produced hydrogen-oxygen fuel gas is bubbled through water in a de-mister along a meandering path past a plurality of horizontal plates in order to remove any KOH vapor contaminant. Residual moisture vapor is then coalesced onto a filter in order to fully dry the mixed fuel gas. Then the produced hydrogen-oxygen fuel gas is bubbled through a volatile combustible liquid, preferably hydrocarbon, prior to being sent to a flash arrestor and then on to a gas welding torch. Preferred volatile combustible liquids are toluene, hexane, heptane, methanol, ethanol and ketones such as acetone, butanone, etc. The temperature of the working fluid (electrolytic solution) is monitored and kept in the range of 55–75° C. with actuating fans. There is no recycling and circulating of the working fluid to a cooling site outside of the cell. Neither is there a liquid coolant used for temperature control.
None of the above-described art combines a liquid coolant process with ignition flame temperature modification. Neither do any of them have a combined cooling system of both a liquid coolant circuit through the generator and cooled electrolytic solution circulation and recycling. Further, none of the electrolytic cells described in the above cited art are the same as the cells used in the present novel system which also includes a combined cooling system of both a liquid coolant circuit through the generator and cooled electrolytic solution circulation and recycling as well as ignition flame temperature modification of the mixed fuel gas produced.
Hence, the novel system herein presented can better address the shortcomings of the currently used conventional systems than can the prior art systems. Additionally, the novel system herein presented can better meet the need for a more effectively cooled, compact, energy efficient, and widely applicable hydrogen-oxygen fuel generating electrolysis cell system.